Who knew that a virtual Docent Appreciation Night, presented via Zoom, could be so much fun? We have the fabulous, creative 2020 DAN committee to thank for this wonderful event, held Thursday evening, July 9.
Docents for All Seasons – a nod to our original venue, the Four Seasons Hotel – was the evening’s theme, and DAN co-chairs Lynne Hensel and Larry Kameya were our hosts. Although we all watched the program remotely, there was a definite sense of connection and camaraderie as shoutouts and greetings from docents came across our screens.
The awards were the evening’s stand-out attractions. The honorees were:
Outstanding Docent Achievement: Constance Rajala
Docent Service: Robin Bauer, Jill Carlson, Judith Kaufman, Lisa Voigt, and Michael Weiland
Neighborhood Tour Directors: Ann Shillinglaw and Nancy Sims for the redevelopment of the Sheffield Historic District tour
Myra N. Gary Award for Excellence in Tour Development: Deb Frels for the redevelopment of the Uptown tour
One Team: Kathy Baker, for outstanding service to the organization for non-tour work and exemplifying core values
Above and Beyond: recognizing 300+ tour hours – Cindy Schneider; and answering ‘help wanted’ requests – Siobhan Hartsell and Jeff Zurlinden
Also recognized were 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 year milestone docents.
The DAN Committee included: co-chairs Lynne Hensel and Larry Kameya; and members Robin Bauer, Jill Carlson, Kathleen Carpenter, Caroline Duda, Kathy Maynard, Susan Pappas, Constance Rajala, Marcia Ross, Ellen Shubart, and Lori Westerman. Be sure to give them a high five – or better yet, an elbow bump – next time you see them.
And although we don’t have photos from the festivities, here are some candids we happen to have in our files.
Missed DAN or didn’t get enough? You can watch the full program here. Access Password: 4e?1s9?* (best if you copy and paste!).
OMG, DAN totally exceeded my expectations — so much fun. Kathleen’s pics are always great. Lynn and Larry, how did you do so many costume changes in so short a time. The awards were terrific — and so well deserved. Constance, could the Outstanding Docent have gone to anyone else this year — I don’t think so!. The committee was incredibly creative and obviously worked really, really hard to create a great 90 minutes. I almost preferred sitting in my t-shirt and shorts to going downtown. But, then, actually seeing everyone in person would have been so good. Hopefully, in 2021.
It was fun- loved the 4 seasons!
What a fun event! Kudos to Lynn and Larry for a delightful job hosting, congratulations to all the honorees, thanks to the committee and staff who put together the polished program, including lots of great photos, fun patter , “costumes” and just generally high quality production values. Of course, we’d rather be together in person, but since that is impossible, I can’t imagine a better virtual experience, so many thanks to all!
It was a fabulous evening. PHotos were fantastic and as for our hosts — who couldn’t admire all that costume changing? It was fun and just great. Thanks to everyone involved.
Yes, agree with Ellen and Emily. Seeing all those photos, particularly those taken during inclement weather, reminded me of what docents do and stand for–loyalty, enthusiasm and a can-do spirit. (Special thanks to Kathleen and others who braved the elements and took personal time to create them.) But very special thanks to those who planned this bash. Award winners deserve their accolades. Constance Rajala deserves about 5,000 of them.
This entire event was put together so nicely. The music, the costumes, the humor and all those photos! The Zoom was very well-executed; the recording was a blessing to those of us who couldn’t join live. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made this happen, with a special tip of the cap to our emcees Lynne and Larry.
Kudos to the entire DAN committee. The BEST virtual event seeing we could not enjoy the real 4 Seasons….extremely creative. Lynne and Larry, you truly excelled as our hosts. I admire your ability to entertain in a playful and fun manner.
Thanks to you all.